Global warming 'will split South Uist in two' as rising sea surges inland

The island in the Outer Hebrides is already dotted with large numbers of inland lochs, which locals believe will eventually join up.

Under climate change scenarios published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), the seas around South Uist will rise by at least 37cm by 2080. Warmer, wetter winters are also predicted.

With a lack of coastal barriers to keep the sea at bay, there are fears that Loch Eynort, in central South Uist, could flood and join with nearby Loch Ollay, forming a continuous stretch of water from the east to west coast.

Already, with heavy rainfall, some parts of South Uist become temporary islands, with houses cut off and surrounded by water, due to lochs joining with the sea.

On Sunday, concerned residents will give local MSP Alasdair Allan a tour of the island to highlight their fears for the future.

They believe habitable areas will shrink, fishing will become more dangerous, and there will be less land to farm unless action is taken to keep the water at bay.

They want better sea defences, drainage systems and early warning systems for dangerous areas liable to flood.

Donald Campbell, a fisherman who has lived on South Uist for 30 years, said the predicted sea level rises would split the island in two.

"Right through from the west coast to the east coast, a series of lochs, with the rise in water, would join together," he said.

"The island is eventually going to lose an awful lot of land."

Seumas MacDonald, a former crofter and local resident, agreed this was possible.

"I certainly hope that I, and generations to come, don't see it happen but we have got to plan for the worst case scenario," he said.

"We have got to think a long way ahead because global warming is a frightening thing."

Already, he said, the machair – the coastal grassland that forms a natural sea defence – had receded dramatically along parts of the south west coast.

"The machair, which has been acting as a barrier for the last few thousands years, has come to a stage where it's within less than a foot of the Atlantic coming in and flooding vast areas of the south end of the island," he said. Mr MacDonald added: "We need some sort of engineering solution to this. The problem is urgent."

Oxfam Scotland has been organising meetings between residents and politicians to try to find a solution.

Caluna Campbell, from Oxfam Scotland, originally from South Uist, said: "In many of the countries Oxfam is working in across the world, we see climate change devastating people's lives.

"But this isn't just happening in developing countries – it is happening here in Scotland as well."

Mr Allan, MSP for the Western Isles, agreed coastal erosion was "one of the great threats to the landscape and the people in parts of the Western Isles".